MBABANE: Sicelo Barocks Tsabedze, a police officer based in Mbabane allegedly tried to kill Swaziland News editor Zweli Martin Dlamini by suffocating him with a plastic bag.
Tsabedze together with about twenty(20) officers from the Tingculungculu Serious Crime Unit led by the late Deputy Commissioner Sam Mthembu handcuffed the editor and suffocated him with a plastic bag for writing critical articles about Mswati on or around the 24th February 2020.
The editor later filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and the matter was sabotaged by the government.
Police Spokesperson Phindile Vilakati confirmed to the SABC that the editor was questioned but denied that he was tortured.
The Swaziland News editor confirmed that Tsabedze was among the cops who tortured him adding that he was compiling a list of the officers who tortured him.
“I regard them as criminals, currently I am compiling a list of all the torturing officers, there must be a way of personally holding them accountable to the crimes they committed. We appeal to the public to assist us in every possible way to deal with these criminals either by providing the list of those who died in their hands or otherwise”, said the editor.
When called by this publication, police officer Sicelo Barocks Tsabedze did not deny the torture but asked to be called later.
“Let’s talk about this later”,he said.
Tsabedze who previously worked at Pigg’s Peak police Station is a resident of Ezulwini, kaSomnjalose.
The editor said Tsabedze was the one who prepared the torturing equipment after receiving an instruction from the late Deputy Commissioner Sam Mthembu through Senior Superintendent Sikhumbuzo Fakudze.
After the torture, the editor further reported the matter to the Southern African Human Rights Defenders and asked the international human rights organization to escalate the matter with the international community.
Sicelo Barocks Tsabedze